Bob Menendez: “Amendment No. 4064 would create more than 40,000 new jobs. It would help revitalize Main Street in some of the…”

“Amendment No. 4064 would create more than 40,000 new jobs. It would help revitalize Main Street in some of the economically hardest hit communities all around the country and at no cost to the taxpayer. We have been talking a lot about the financial crisis and how to prevent the next one. That is obviously important. It is essential work. But what we cannot lose sight of is the devastating impact this crisis has had on small businesses and economic development in local neighborhoods and communities. I, like many in this Chamber, watched in frustration as the ranks of the unemployed rose to 15 million people and the unemployment rate increased to nearly 10 percent. I, like many of you, have watched in frustration as small businesses shut their doors, unable to get the credit they needed to keep the lights on. The problem is the big banks--the same banks that took billions upon billions of dollars in TARP funds--are not making loans to small businesses.”